Bidding Process Closes for M-U TOD in Kakaako

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor The bidding process ended for the Pohukaina Street mixed-use development in Honolulu, which includes the construction of a 650-foot residential skyscraper. The Pacific Business News reports that the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) received solid bids from at least four developers in Hawaii and China and should reach a final [...]

The bidding process ended for the Pohukaina Street mixed-use development in Honolulu, which includes the construction of a 650-foot residential skyscraper. The Pacific Business News reports that the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) received solid bids from at least four developers in Hawaii and China and should reach a final decision by the end of the year.

In January, the state agency issued its final request for proposals for the “690 Pohukaina” project in Kakaako, which will bring two residential towers to the neighborhood. One of the buildings will include 300 affordable for-sale units, while the second structure will offer 500 market-price units. The market-price residential tower will rise more than 200 feet above the First Hawaiian Center, Hawaii’s tallest building at 440 feet. Plans also call for a commercial and civic building, a parking structure, a business innovation incubation space and offices for the state’s library system and Friends of the Library.

The project is slated for a parcel at 690 Pohukaina St., along the route of the planned Honolulu Rapid Transit line, and it is designed to qualify as a transit-oriented development, maximizing access to multiple forms of public transportation. HCDA executive director Anthony Ching told the newspaper that the new development is considered the second phase of a project that includes the Halekauwila Place, an already-approved 204-unit rental housing component developed by Stanford Carr.

The agency estimates that 690 Pohukaina will infuse $500 million into the state’s economy over seven years and create 500 construction jobs and as many as 1,000 indirect jobs. Construction of the two residential towers could start in 2015 or 2016, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2019.